Peace & Justice

A White House advisory council of religious leaders called for a global fund to address human trafficking and urged a new labeling system to help identify consumer goods that were not created with slave labor.

With a 36-page report released Wednesday, the President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships hopes to build awareness of the estimated 21 million people worldwide who are subjected to sexual exploitation or forced labor.

The head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea said North Korea's recent threats of aggression may be an attempt to shore up foreign aid while preserving pride.

"It is our presumption that they wish to draw out some financial assistance from abroad without conceding their pride or self-esteem," Bishop Peter Kang U-Il of Cheju, South Korea, wrote in an email Tuesday to Catholic News Service.

He said Catholic bishops "feel very sorry" that tension provoked by North Korean threats are making "the whole world very uncomfortable and anxious."